Most of the overseas students prefer to share accommodation while studying in Australia. It is not only cost effective but you also get to see and meet new people. But quite often there are problems in sharing the house with the others. While we don’t focus too much on the problems, we are going to look at some of the solutions. Here are our top 9 tips for sharing accommodation with others.

1. Establish and follow the basic house rules

Set some of the very basic house rules for your shared house and make sure that everyone follows those rules. For example – you can establish the rule that no guests will stay beyond 10 pm in the night or no parties during the weekdays etc.

2. Pay your rent share on time

When you sign up for a shared house, you will know the dates when you have to pay your share of the rent. It is very important to discuss with others to ensure that the rental payments are going on time.

3. Be considerate of other people living

When you are in a shared house, you don’t have the freedom to do what you like. You must consider other people before taking some of your actions. If you work late night or going early morning, try to keep the noise levels to the minimum.

4. Keep the house as clean as possible

Usually, it is a good idea to create a schedule/roster of the house cleaning and all the responsible persons must doing their tasks effectively. Try to make as little mess as possible. Clean as go is the best policy in the shared house.

5. Be friendly with other housemates

Don’t be too serious all the time. Try to have fun together with your housemates. Have a friendly relationship, some casual chats, playing games, cooking together or watching TV together can be a great way to develop a friendly relation with the other housemates.

6. Make the shared space accessible for everyone

Common issues among the shared housemates include unfair using of the common spaces like common bathrooms, kitchen and living areas. Make sure to share the common space fairly.

7. Help others when they need

We all been through tough situations in life. Sometimes just getting sick or feeling homesick can be really challenging for some people. Ask your housemates if they need any help for food or other tasks. If you can help them when things are tough, most likely they will do the same if in case you need it one day.

8. Know your tenancy rights

Find out about your duties and rights as a tenant. Each state/territory in Australia has its own body that looks after the tenancy and landlord rights. It becomes extremely important to know your rights when sharing the house as you don’t want to be penalised for someone else’s wrongdoings.

9. Be ready to compromise on certain things

Let’s be honest, you won’t be in living in a perfect house and with the perfect housemates. There will be certain things that you won’t like and certain things that your housemates won’t like. You will need to find a middle ground and try to compromise on certain things while sharing.

Do you live in a shared house? What are your tips for the shared accommodation? How do you find these tips? Do you think we missed out on any tips? Let us know in the comments below.

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STUDENT LIFE

Most of the universities and institutions will have an orientation week, also known as Week 0 of the studies where they will explain more about the institution, your studies, providing you with a time table and a student card (which can be useful for many exclusive discounts and offers).
As a newcomer to the country, we highly recommend you to attend the orientation as it helps you to meet other students, administration staff members and understand your own institution better